The Golden Gift
by glitterdreamer95
Summary: Jemma finds herself in Middle Earth because of her genius brother and wakes to find Aragorn by her side.
1. Chapter 1

*J.R.R. Tolkien owns every character except for Andrea, Jemma, and Tommy. And also owns the rights to Middle Earth and its contents*

After a _very_ long day, having to babysit 10 kids and do a 9 hour shift at the local fast food joint, all I wanted to do was crash in my bed and fall straight asleep. Sadly, I still had to feed my guinea pigs and make some dinner for myself. My roommate, who also happened to be my younger sister, Andrea, sat in one of the couches and I opened the door.

"How did your day go?"

"How do you think?" I replied, rummaging in the fridge for a quick snack.

"That bad, huh? Well Tommy sent you a package, probably another one of his inventions he wants you to try."

Even after all the stress going through my mind, a smile slid onto my lips. My little brother was a genius and spent his time inventing instead of attending school. Not that he needed it. Andrea stood up and brought over a little box. I put down the pieces of bread I have been messing with, and took the box in my hands. Andrea leaned over my shoulder as I opened it to find a pair of bracelets. They were simple, bronze circles and there was only one green gem that adorned each of them.

"I wonder why he sent two of them." I asked, almost to myself. Carefully, I picked up the bracelet and slid in on, Andrea followed suit with the other one.

"Who knows? Maybe he just wanted to thank you for the last experiment we went through." We both laughed, thinking about the teleporting chickens that had appeared on the balcony. Then I noticed a note at the bottom of the box, it read:

**Dear Jemma,**

** I have made an interesting discovery, and thought you might help me test it out? Call me once you put the bracelets on, I will explain everything then.**

** Love,**

** Tommy**

So that is how I found myself dialing my brother when all I really wanted to do was sleep. He promptly answered.

"So you have them on?"

"Yeah, and hello to you too." I joked with him.

"Ok, well things are getting a little tense, you see, I…teleported an important piece of technology into another dimension. I…"

"I can't go get it for you! I have to work tomorrow!"

"Just hear me out. I can't go get it because this piece of technology was for the government, and now they think that I am using it for myself. I am under constant surveillance, so I thought to myself my big sister could get me out of trouble?"

I sighed very audibly, he knew I couldn't resist helping him, "All right, was sort of teleportation will you use?"

"Ok, well it's…." Suddenly I heard crashing sounds in the background, almost as if the door had been run over, "I have to go, you'll have to be teleported now, don't worry I will get you back as soon as I can." Someone in the background shouted for Tommy to put his hands up, and the line went dead. Before I even had time to worry about my little brother, a bright light suddenly shown, coming from our bracelets, and the next thing I knew, I was falling from the sky.

…..

I awoke, feeling rather bruised, with a strange face looking down at me. They said something in what seemed like Latin, I didn't understand.

"I don't know what…." I gasped as I felt a sharp pain in my chest, "What…your. Saying." I finished every word send spikes of pain through me.

The face turned and said something to someone behind him and then turned back to me.

"I'm sorry, I was speaking to my fellows, sadly they only happen to speak in the Elvin tongue." He asked, thankfully in English.

_Elvin tongue? What kind of language is that? And why did Tommy send us here? _ I mused to myself, trying to forget the pain in my chest. The stranger turned again and started a conversation in their Latin-like language, so I studied his face. He was a grown man, probably in his early 30's, with scruffy-looking black hair and intense eyes. He wore a black cloak, some leather armor, and a long sword attached to his belt.

"Can I have your name?" I asked.

"It's Strider." He replied.

"Where exactly…am I?" I asked, trying to sit up, but Aragorn gently pushed me back down with a shake of his head.

"You are badly injured, we are going to move you to see the healers, there you will be healed and you can explain to us who you are and what a lady is doing in the middle of a war zone."


	2. Chapter 2

"Where's my sister?" I asked Strider instead, avoiding why I was here and who I was.

"What do you mean?" He asked, although he seemed to be slightly distracted with whatever was going on behind him.

"Isn't there another girl around here?" I tried to sit up again, but he pushed me back. He didn't reply to me at first, instead saying something to his friends. I heard footsteps fading away, and then Strider turned back to me.

"My companions say that there are only men here, this being a battlefield. We need to get you out of here." He repeated.

Despite further questioning, Strider ignored me and instead seemed to issue orders to his strange friends. Events started to blur together, and after a while I forgot about questions and focused more on pain. I think at some point, I was lifted onto something, and then I remember moving. Blackness started to ebb at the edge of my vision, the last thing I remember is strider's mouth saying something to me, before I lost consciousness.

The first thing I felt when I awoke was annoyance, because I had lost consciousness two times in the same day. The next was I realized there was no longer a sharp pain in my chest. My eyes slid open, and I found myself in new surroundings, which appeared to be in some sort of bedroom. It had a wide window, which was open and was letting in morning sunlight and the drapes gracefully danced with a small breeze. I turned my head to the side, and found Strider there. He cleared his throat.

"Glad to see you're awake." He said calmly, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty well, all things considered."

"I am pleased to hear that. Are you well enough to answer some questions?"

I sighed, great here came the hard part, "Sure, why not?"

"Firstly, who are you?"

"My name is Jemma."

"That's an odd name, but I like it. Where are you from?"

I tried hard to think what Tommy would say if he were here right now. Surely he'd know what to say. I wasn't really in the mood to lie, but telling Strider the blatant truth would be too much for him, or so I suspected.

"I'm from far away from here," I settled with.

"And how far do you mean? I have had my fair share of travels, perhaps I might have heard of it." He pressed. _What is he trying to find out? _

"I don't think you would have heard of it."

He sighed, clearly disappointed that I hadn't answered him clearly then said, "Very well, Jemma, if you want to keep to your secrets go ahead, but be warned I am obliged to mine."

Strider looked as though he wanted to say more, but the door opened and a very tall man in gray robes walked in. He had a long gray beard, a pointy gray hat, and a wooden walking staff. The man glanced at me, then Strider, and back to me.

"Good morning." He told me and then to Strider he said, "Some of the men wish to speak to you, I would not tarry and keep them waiting; if you know what I mean."

Strider nodded, and rose from the wooden chair he had been sitting on. With a nod in my direction, he turned and left me and the man alone in the room. Once the door was shut, the stranger looked back at me.

"Hi…I'm Jemma." I said slowly, not sure what the other was waiting for.

"Gandalf." He continued to stare.

"Did I do something, Gandalf?" I asked.

"I am not entirely sure yet. Tell me, why were you out in the middle of that nasty battle?"

"I don't really know." I answered truthfully.

"Strider said you mentioned another girl, but when the men looked for her, she was nowhere to be found."

"That is strange." I muttered, wondering if somehow my brother's technology had malfunctioned. If that was the case, then either she was back at home or here in this world somewhere. I guessed the latter, because I remembered her putting one of the bracelets on. _So she must be around here somewhere, the problem is I don't know where._

"Tell me, Jemma, why is that strange?"

"Because she was with me when we traveled here. I don't remember how I got to that battlefield, but I must find her. She means a lot to me."

"I understand," he glanced out the window at the sun, "I must go now, but I will return. My suggestion to you is to rest easy for the next few days. The healers say that you may feel weak for a while, all part of the process of being healed by magic."

I watched him as he left, without a second glance back at me. I waited a few seconds after the door closed, and then slowly sat up. Dizziness filled my head for a moment, and when it cleared I stood up and carefully made my way to the door. Through the door, I heard voices outside and, as I got nearer, I started to understand the words.

"What is your take on her?" I recognized Strider's voice.

"If she is a secret spy of the enemy, she hides her evil well. When I looked into her eyes I saw only innocence and longing. She really does miss her sister." This was Gandalf's voice.

"You sound as if you trust her, a stranger! She could have easily been planted on the battlefield for us to find. There is no reason to trust her, not until we have her full story." Strider sounded annoyed that Gandalf found me 'innocent'. I didn't understand, when he was talking to me he seemed nice enough, trusting even.

"Calm yourself, anger does not solve mysteries, only clear thought will." A third voice said, this one was very calm. He spoke words, but they sounded like songs to me.

"Legolas, I do respect your counsel. Tell me, what do you think of her?" Strider asked; he seemed a bit calmer.

"She is obviously not from Rohan or Gondor. My belief is that she is from North of the Iron Hills. Not much is known about that place, so it is quite possible." Legolas replied.

"Your words ring true, Legolas. But let's dwell on another matter. What to do with her and how to keep her from finding out about the Ring."

"I believe Elrond will have something to say on the matter." Gandalf suggested. I heard footsteps walking away. Then there was silence, and I was left alone with my questions.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a loud knocking at my door, before Gandalf and Strider came hurrying into the room. It'd been a few hours since Gandalf had talked to me and I had been half asleep when they entered. Strider threw me a bundle of clothing. "Put these on, we need to leave now." Strider's voice was tense, and worried. "Why..." "Please, Jemma, don't ask questions. We need to hurry." Gandalf said in a kind voice.

They left the room, and I put the clothes on as fast as I could. I was happy at the fact that I was feeling better, no more dizziness when I stood. Strider had given me a pair of woven pants, some leather boots, and a loose shirt, which I was glad of since they were easy to put on. Once I had finished, I opened the door, where Strider and Gandalf stood waiting.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to grab a dress." Strider apologized, while handing me a brown cloak.

I didn't get to respond, because there was a loud banging at the end of the hall. Gandalf and Strider sprung into action. Strider went down the hall to the door, which was the source of the sounds, and Gandalf stood in front of me. I peeked around him to see the door banging open. What came through the door was ugly. They were like men, except smaller with tight pale skin and large luminescent eyes. They had almost no hair and wore mismatched armor, which was mainly a chainmail shirt and a weapon.

"What are those?" I asked.

Gandalf grimaced, "Goblins."

"Oh." I replied, as if I understood completely through those little words.

Strider's sword was gliding through the air, landing killing blows to whatever came near it. Somehow I knew that there was too many for him to take care of all by himself.

"I think you need to go help him, Gandalf." I said as I continued to stare at the seemingly endless flow of goblins. He looked at me with surprise, then suspicion.

"I don't think it would be wise to leave you alone."

It was hard not to roll my eyes, but instead I bit my lip. "he can't hold out forever, and I thought _you _said we had to leave. So can you create a distraction or something?" My tone was pleading and soft.

Gandalf didn't respond, but a second later, the hallway filled with a bright light.I shielded my eyes. I heard yelps of surprise. The light dimmed, but only slightly, and I saw that the goblins were still cowering in the doorway. Strider was running toward us, and shouting something at Gandalf in that strange language, I think he called it elvish? Then Gandalf and Strider were guiding me to the other end of the hallway, where there was set of double doors. We weren't even halfway to them when the goblins started a charge. They had recovered from the distraction very quickly.

"Don't look back, keep moving." Strider commanded, and I listened. We reached the doors and Gandalf, who was in the lead, yanked one open and urged us through. The goblins were catching up, and I could have sworn I heard gleeful battle cries coming from the mob. As soon as we were all through the door, Strider and Gandalf barred it shut.

"I don't think that's going to hold them." I said softly.

"It will be for long enough. Keep moving, we may yet make it to the stables." Gandalf told me.

Then we were off again. In front of us there was a spiral staircase that went both up and down. The stairs were made of a white stone with metal on the sides, decorated like leaves, that held the steps in place. The rails reminded my of twisted tree limbs, only they were gold and silver. I wanted to sit there and stare at the stairs, they were so beautiful and perfect. On one side of the stair was a wall made almost entirely out of glass, with some silver supports and a small portion of white walls that helped shine light into the staircase.

"Wow." I was breathless, I had never seen such beautiful architecture before.

Much to my distress, Strider and Gandalf led me down the stairs at a hastened pace. I still stared as we went down, because what little light that was outside seemed to be magnified in the stairwell, causing the white to have a sort of glow.

When we reached the end, we exited through another set of doors and then entered a courtyard of sorts, which was also beautiful had there not been more goblins there. My guides hesitated for a moment, which I took advantage of and looked down. There were some goblins here who were dead. I assumed that whoever else lived here had started a defense. I picked up a dagger and held it firmly. The small blade felt familiar in my hands, reminding me of my late high school career. That'd been the years when I had started taking archery and knife lessons, although I didn't think I wanted to tell Gandalf and Strider just yet. I still wasn't sure what was going on, so it was better to have some secrets still on my side. I put the blade in my boot.

"There's too many of them for us to take by ourselves." Strider said.

"Agreed. We will have to make a break for the stables. Jemma, can you ride?"

"You mean a horse? Yes." I gave him a smile, for no other reason than to try and lighten the mood.

They didn't say anything else, and soon we were running across the courtyard. Strider slashed at any goblins that were within reach. The slashes weren't enough to stop the monsters, but they did slow them down. I tried to keep my breath normal as I struggled to keep up with the other two. Gandalf may look old, but I had to admit that he was pretty agile.

One side of the courtyard had an archway that appeared to lead into the wilderness. We burst through it and kept running, heading into the dark woods. Strider and Gandalf slowed down a bit a little ways in.

"Did we loose them?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"No, but our horses should be nearby." Gandalf answered.

Soon we came to as clearing and found the horses. Three saddled horses waited at one end, while a group of other horses and ponies with riders waited near the middle. Strider and Gandalf pulled themselves onto some horses. I clambered onto the remaining one and then the horses were racing through the trees and the noises of the goblins faded behind. _At least for now we are safe, _I thought, _and maybe now I can go and find Andrea. I need to find her, then that technology and get back home before they start asking questions again._

I really hoped that they would be too distracted by the threat of those goblins to ask anything else of me. Although, secretly, I knew that this would not be true.


End file.
